Rail-joint.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR L. STANFORD, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 THE RAIL JOINTCOMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

RAIL-JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 2, 1911.

Application filed December 26,1907. Serial No. 408,021.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR L. STANFORD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Joints, of whichthe following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a reinforcement for thesplice bars of a rail joint, by giving the splice bar a formation whichsecures a maximum vertical depth immediately adjacent the abutting railends, without diminishing the bearing surface on the joint ties andwithout adding to the weight of the splice bars or materiallycomplicating the methods whereby they are formed. In order to secure thenecessary strength, without unduly increasing the weight, it isdesirable to form the splice bars of rolled rather than cast steel, and,in order to economically form the bars by rolling, it is desirable thatthey be of uniform thickness throughout.

In certain previous constructions it has been the practice to provide adependingl tongue or chord which was formed on the edge of the inturnedbase flange, which mode of construction is objectionable in that itnecessitates either forming a rail joint by casting or cutting back themain portion of the base Hange in order to provide the supplementaltongue or chord, in either of which constructions the weight of thesplice bar will be increased and the methods employed in itsconstruction complicated.

In the present invention the above objectionable features are obviatedby giving to the inturned base flange a formation which provides thenecessary reinforcement without employing additional material andwithout materially increasing the cost of production.

Another object of the present invention is to so position the companionsplice bars of a single oint with respect to oneanother that the dangerof a break in the rail, immediately adjacent the splice bar ends, willbe materially lessened, if not entirely obviated. Experience has taughtthat rails most frequently break at a point in line with the ends of thesplice bars. This is due to the clamping action of the splice bars,which are ordinarily positioned in register with one another on oppositesides of the rails, so

' that the rail ends, between the splice bars,

will be rigidly clamped and held, whereas the intermediate unclampedsections of rail will be free to vibrate, thereby causing breakage atthe point indicated.

The present invention contemplates positioning of the companion splicebars in such manner that their ends will overlap one another, so thatthe clamping action at the joint will be graduated instead of centeredat a single point. It is not feasible to taper the splice bars from thecenter to the ends by reason of the practicable difficulties in rollinga tapered splice bar; but, by overlapping the ends in the mannersuggested, substantially the same result can be obtained withoutincreasing the cost of production.

`The invention consists in the features of construction and combinationof parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings` Figure 1 is a perspective view of a rail joint,comprising two splice bars having their ends overlapped or staggeredwith respect to one another; Fig. 2 a sectional plan view of the same;Fig. 3 a perspective inner face view showing one method of forming thereinforcing tongue or chord; and Fig. l a similar view showing anothermethod of providing the reinforcement.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, 5 5 indicates the rail sections, which areof ordinary construction and are joined by means of splice bars G ofstandard formation, comprising a vertical portion 7 and a lateral flangeS, which latter is supplemented by an inturned base or seating flange 9upon which the base of the rail directly rests. This formation providesa groove or channel 10 for the reception of the flange of the rail. Thevertical portion of the splice bar is provided, at its upper edge, withan inwardly projected head 11, which engages the shoulder of the railhead and is the usual method of forming splice bars of the characterreferred to.

The inturned base or seating flange 9, in the form shown in Fig. 3, isprovided with a depending tongue 12, which is formed by cutting back thematerial forming the base flange to a point somewhat outside the innerwall of the groove or channel 10 and thereafter striking down thematerial thus cut free to form the vertically extending tongue, whichserves to reinforce the splice bar at a point laterally adjacent to thejoint between the rail sections. This provides a longitudinallyextending angle or shoulder 13 inside of which the base of the rail willbe unsupported. The length of the tongue is preferably about a, third ofthe total length of the splice bar, and the tongue is intended to occupythe space between the joint ties and prevent creeping of the rail.

In Fig. 4, in place of the tongue, formed as above described, the middlesection of the base flange is uncut but is pressed to provide adepending longitudinally extending choi'd 14, tapering from top tobottom and connected at its ends with web portions 15, giving the wholebase flange an integral formation increased in its vertical dimensionnear its center and providing a shoulder 1G having 'the same relativeposition as the shoulder 13.

In assembling the splice bars to form the joint, instead of locatingtheir ends in register on opposite sides of the rail sections, the endsare staggered or overlapped, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and the boltholes 17 punchedaccordingly, through which holes bolts 18, of the usualcharacter', are entered, being' held in place by nuts 19 which compressspring nut locks 20, which in turn bear against washers 21.

By staggering or .overlapping the splice bars, the total effectivelength of the joint will be materially increased without increasing theindividual lengt-h of the splice bars, which is highly desirable, inthat it provides -a full bearing surface upon the joint ties and at thesame time graduates the clamping and supporting act-ion at the ends ofthe splice bars so as to greatly reduce the danger of either verticaloi' lateral breakage of the rails at points adjacent to the ends of thejoint. By forming the reinforcing tongue or chord in connection with theinwardly extending base flange, said tongiie or chord will be broughtbeneath the vertical portion of the splice bar, which is the most desi1able point of reinforcement. At the same time, by striking down themetal near the center of t-lie joint and immediately beneath theadjacent ends of the rail sections, the rail base will be deprived ofany central support, which converts the rail base into a spring arch andalso provides a longitudinally eX- teiiding shoulder on each of thesplice bars, which gives a spring gripping action. This results in aresilient rail joint which reduces the lamination of rails, preventscutting by the rail base into the joint ties, and lesseiis shown in thedrawings, but the intention is to cover any arrangement of splice barsin which the supporting and reinforcing function is graduated withrespect to the rail by overlapping or staggering those portions ofsplice bar which actually perform this function. The invention,furthermore, is intended to cover any construction iii which thisfunction is performed in the manner suggested, even though the extremeends of the splice bars may he in register with one another.

In the claim,` t-he term body is used to designate that portion of thesplice bar coinpiifing the vertical section 7 and the lateral flange 8,and the inif'ention is intended to 75 embrace a construction in whichthe body portions, actually contacting the rail, have their endsstaeoered or overla i )ed regardu less of the formation of the baseportion of the hars and regardless of whether such base portion bepresent or absent.

That I regard as new and desire to secure by Letters Iatent is:

In combination with the connected rail ends, a splice bar comprising avertical por- 35 tion and an outwardly extending lateral flange portion,an inturned base flange forining in connection with the lateral flangeportion a groove or channel for the reception of the flanges of the railends, and a substantially vertical reinforcing tongue formed of thestock originally composing' the inturned base flange and having its endseut free from the adjacent portions of the base flange hack to a pointiii advance of the inner angle of 95 the groove or channel and struckdownwardly therefrom to occupy a position laterally of the webs of thesupported rail ends and leaving a ledge for the support of the edge ofthe rail flange inside of the point of connection between the tongue andthe inturned base flange of the splice bar, substantially as described.

ARTHUR L. STANFORD.

illitnesses IVALKER BANNiNG, Pi'iiizsox IV. BANMNG.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

